Pain Resolved
by Juliette4
Summary: Albus visits Minerva while in St. Mungos. They both realize something important....love.


This is stupid and short, but I thought it was cute, anyways. Review and let me know what you think. The plot isn't anything special, but I hope this doesn't sound too much like any other stories you've read. I just had to get the pointless fluff out of the way before I write another longer story. You understand don't you? Ok, now on to the fic!  
  
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Minerva McGonagall sighed wearily and looked at the ceiling. She was in the wizarding hospital, St. Mungos, after being hit in the chest with no less then four Stunner spells. The spells hit her hard, causing her to fly backwards and break two ribs. Because of that, she was wearing a bandage that covered her midriff, and she couldn't move around because she was waiting for the potion to set her bones back in place. Unfortunately, besides the pain, which was bad enough, she couldn't sleep unless she was on her side, and the nurse had specifically told her not to roll over. Not that she really wanted to. It hurt enough just to breath. But she still couldn't sleep.  
  
She reached up and rubbed her eyes, wincing at the chain reaction of movements. 'Drat that Dolores Umbridge and her cronies!' She thought to herself. She couldn't help but wish Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and her friend, confidante, and somewhat of a mentor, was there with her. He would make her want to laugh, and cheer her up. Although, now that she thought about it, laughing wih her ribs the way they were wasn't such a good idea.  
  
She sighed again, then gasped. Oh, it did hurt to do anything at all, and that was very annoying. Since she couldn't sleep, she wanted to do something, but she couldn't. Suddenly she growled in frustration.  
  
"Now Minerva, I thought you supposed to be more like a cat, not a dog."  
  
Minerva smiled. She would know that voice anywhere. She turned her head to her left.  
  
"Albus!" She tried to put her arms underneath of her to prop herself up on her elbows, but before she could get further than lifting her head, Albus pushed her back down.  
  
"Don't even think about sitting up." He said in a soft voice. He looked her over gently, worry etched in his face. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Horrible." She admitted.  
  
He sat down carefully on the bed and smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "When I'd heard what happened, I nearly lost it. I thought I'd never see you again. And when I thought that-" He sighed. "How could she do that to you?"  
  
She tried to sit up again. "Albus-"  
  
"Don't sit up!" He said angrily. "Do you want to feel pain?!"  
  
She laid her head back down. "No, all I wanted was a hug," she said sadly.  
  
Albus laughed quietly. "Oh my dear Minerva." He got up and stood right by her head. "I can't hug you, you might scream with pain."  
  
She smiled. He smiled back at her. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "Will that do?" He asked.  
  
She was breathless. "Oh...yes." She managed to say. He grinned and pulled up a chair. He sat down and took her hand.  
  
They sat in comfortable silence, each thinking their own thoughts, when Albus spoke up. "I'm worried about Harry, Minerva."  
  
She squeezed his hand. "Don't be. Just love him. That's all he needs now, is love and support. It's not too bad for him right now, he's got Dolores to deal with, sure, and worries about You know-" she stopped and cleared her throat. "Voldemort. But," she continued quickly, "He'll be able to deal with it, I'm sure. He got placed in Gryffindor for a reason you know."  
  
Albus was quiet. He seemed to have something on his mind. She waited patiently for him to say something.  
  
"Minerva," he said finally, "you do know that if I could, I would have been there, when you got attacked, don't you?"  
  
"Albus, are you feeling guilty?" She asked, somewhat disbelievingly.  
  
He was silent for a moment. Then: "Yes." He whispered. "I feel awful."  
  
"Albus Dumbledore!" Minerva said furiously. "I don't want to hear that from you!" She reached up and smacked him lightly in the face, and he looked at her, surprised. "How can you think it's you're fault when you didn't even know anything about it? Sometimes I think you're not as smart as everyone thinks you are."  
  
"So do I." He said quietly.  
  
"Albus!" She said. "I didn't mean it really. Stop feeling sorry for yourself now, feel sorry..." She thought a moment. "Feel sorry for me!" She grinned up at him cheekily, then groaned, holding her side.  
  
"Minerva?" He asked, quickly bending over her. "What's wrong?"  
  
She shook her head from side to side, her breathing fast. "I think it's the potion kicking in." She moaned, and gritted her teeth, trying not to cry.  
  
Albus grasped her hand tighter. He truly didn't know what to do. He didn't like seeing her in pain. She held his hand tight, and began to cry. "Oh Albus," she breathed. "It hurts so bad."  
  
He leaned over her, and pulled her head and shoulders to him, holding her tight against his chest, letting her cry into his robes. After a few minutes, her tense body relaxed, and she gradually stopped crying. He let go of her and looked her in the eye. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and kissed her forehead. "Do you feel better now?" He asked with concern.  
  
She nodded and managed a weak smile. "I'm so very tired." she couldn't help complaining.  
  
"Why don't you get some rest?" He asked her.  
  
She frowned. "I can't. I can't sleep unless I'm on my side and I can't roll over like this."  
  
He couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "Minerva. Dear, dear Minerva." He cupped her chin in his hand and looked at her lovingly. "You must get better soon. What would I do without you?"  
  
"What will you do with me?" She asked jokingly.  
  
The corners of Albus' mouth turned up, and the good old twinkle returned to his eyes. "This." He said. And then he leaned down and captured her lips softly with his. He held them there for a moment before pulling back and apologizing. "I apologize Minerva, that was out of place." He looked down at their still intertwined hands.  
  
Minerva was staring at him, speechless. 'Did Albus Dumbledore just...kiss me?' When she didn't answer, he looked back at her.  
  
"I truly am sorry, Minerva."  
  
She stared at him. "Really, truly?" She asked, raising her eybrows.  
  
He chuckled softly. "Well, no. If you want to know the truth, I enjoyed that very much." He glanced at her again. "But it wasn't my place to do that. I had no right to-"  
  
"Albus just shut up," she interrupted him.  
  
He stared at her. "What?"  
  
"I said shut up. Shut up, and kiss me again."  
  
His eyes widened. "Did I just hear you say what I thought I heard you say?"  
  
She sighed in exasperation. She reached up and pulled at his robes until he was bending over her again. "I said kiss me again. Do it now, before I do it for you!"  
  
His mouth dropped open. Then he smiled, his eyes sparkling. "I guess I'll just have to kiss you then," he said. He sighed. "Oh well." He bent down and kissed her again. Only it was ten times better than the kiss before, because this time she kissed him back. After a moment they broke apart, and Albus ran his hand down her cheek. "I should go." He said softly.  
  
She nodded, looking unhappy. "I understand. the nurse will probably be in to check on me soon anyways."  
  
Albus smoothed her hair. "Get better soon, very soon. I need you around with me, by my side. I love you." He said the last bit quietly.  
  
A giant smile spread across her face. "I love you too."  
  
He pressed one last kiss to her lips, then silently stood up and looking back more than once, left.  
  
Minerva ran her fingers over her smiling lips then sighed happily, despite the pain. She closed her eyes, and this time she fell asleep right away, the pain resolved.  
  
THE END 


End file.
